Machine for disintegrating and removing ice to form navigation channels



Jan. 12, 1954 G. R BROWN ETAL 2,665,655 MACHINE FOR DISINTEGRATING AND REMOVING ICE TO FORM NAVIGATION CHANNELS Filed July 12, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 12, 1954 I G, BROWN ETAL 2,665,655 MACHINE FOR DISINTEGRATING AND REMOVING ICE TO FORM NAVIGATION CHANNELS Filed July 12, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 m rm G. R. BROWN ETAL MACHINE FOR DISINTEGRATING AND REMOVING Jan. 12, 1954 ICE TO FORM NAVIGATION CHANNELS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 12, 1950 QUE Jan. 12, 1954 BRQWN ET AL 2,665,655

MACHINE FOR DISINTEGRATING AND REMOVING ICE TO FORM NAVIGATION CHANNELS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed July 12, 1950 FIG.7

Patented Jan. 12, 1954 MACHINE FOR DISINTEGRATING AND BE- FORM NAVIGATION MOVING ICE TO CHANNELS George R. Brown and Kenneth R. Larson,

St. Paul, Minn.

Application July 12, 1950, Serial No. 173,452

This invention relates to machinery for breaking ice and removing the same to form an open channel for navigation on lakes, rivers, harbors and the like.

In many sections of the United States, navigation is tied up for several months on normally navigable Waters due to the formation of heavy ice during the winter season. At the present time, no commercially successful machine or apparatus has been employed to disintegrate ice to the extent of forming navigation lanes or channels which may beutilized through this winter period.

It is an object of our invention to provide a machine or apparatus which may be mounted upon a boat, float or vessel and be propelled through a desired course to not only cut heavy ice but to moreover disintegrate the same and remove by piowing action the disintegrated pieces to the sides of the propelling vessel and below the stratum of solid ice, thereby leaving an unobstructed channel.

Another object is the provision of machinery of the class described which utilizes a minimum number of parts and may be constructed economically and which positively removes the disintegrated chunks of ice to points under the solid ice stratum to an extent Where the disintegrated material will not work back into the channel formed but will be retained by the solid ice covering.

More specifically, it i an object of our invention to provide apparatus of the class described employing for each side of the propelling vessel a large power driven rotor drum which not only cuts the ice ahead of the vessel but moreover disintegrates the cutting of ice into relatively small chunks and conveys the same downwardly and simultaneously to the side of the Vessel, said mechanism working in close co-operation with a receiving moldboard or plow which receives the disintegrated ice below the ice stratum and directs the same forcibly to a zone removed to one side of the channel formed and under the ice stratum.

A still further object is the provision of machinery of the class described mounted at the bow or front end of a vessel or propelled float which provides for a sawing action of the ice' stratum ahead of the vessel, for disintegration and rapid turning-under of the cut ice and conveying of the disintegrated ice chunks laterally to both sides of the lane of travel of the propelling vessel or float with adequate force to discharge the disintegrated particles at both sides Claims. (Cl. 114-42) of the vessel far under the solid stratum of ice at the sides of the channel formed.

These and other objects and advantages of our invention will more fully appear from the following description made in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a machine embodying our invention mounted upon a simple type of propelling vessel or boat;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same with some portions being shown diagrammatically by dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the same showing the waist portion of the propelling boat broken Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross-section taken through one of the large cutting and disintegrating drums to show the arrangement of saw or cutter elements;

Fig. 5 is a detail cross-section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary cross-section taken through the top portion of the drum just outwardly of one of the auger or conveying ribs;

Fig. 7 is a detail cross-sectional view taken on the line 'l-[ of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken axially through the outer end of one of the drums showing the worm gear driving thereof; and

Figs. 9 to 11 are cross-sectional views showing the concave shaping of the plow mold boards taken on the line 9--9, l0|0 and Il-ll respectively.

In the embodiment of our invention illustrated, the machine or apparatus is mounted upon the bow or forward end of a boat B which as shown, is of simplified construction, having as. shown a long, fiat deck, a blunt relatively wide bow and equipped with suitable power (not shown) and propelled by a plurality of propellers: P. Our machine or apparatus is supported in overhanging relation with the bow of the boat by means of suitable, very strong supporting structure which preferably extends back to the waist of the boat and is rigidly bolted or otherwise secured thereto. The supporting structure as shown, in-

cludes for each side or" our apparatus, a triangularly trussed supporting structure indicated as an entirety by the letter T, comprising for each side, a heavy, upstanding post 8 rigidly afiixed at its lower end to a heavy, horizontal eye beam 9 which extends longitudinally of a side or" the boat with its outer end overhanging and projecting beyond members H3 and I! which are arranged triangularly with respect to the base beam 9 and are rigidly connected thereto and at theirupper and converging ends are joined to rigid socket members I2 which also receive the upper ends of the posts ii. Each of the triangulated, heavy truss constructions are further braced by diagonal brace beams It which have their outer and upper ends rigidly afixed to the socket members l2 in each instance and which extend inwardly and downwardly having their inner ends afiiXed beone circle. The teeth of course project beyond the periphery of the drum several inches and the series are longitudinally spaced along the drum so that cutting of the ice stratum ahead of the vessel is progressively produced along a series of substantially parallel lines disposed longitudinally of the boat B.

Between each pair of circumferential cutter series we mount spirally arranged auger elements It, the spiral arrangement being such that the pieces of ice cut and broken from the stratum will be progressively urged and moved outwardly laterally of the boat at both sides thereof and tween heavy channel members l3a disposed as shown on opposite sides of the center line at the bow of the boat. Additional side trussing comprising forward and aft beams Ma and I 41) dis.- posed substantially at deck level and interconnected by a heavy socket member I40, is provided for each side of the frame or supporting structure, socket lee being interconnected with the upright beam 8 by a rigid truss beam Md. It will of course be understood that various types of rigid supporting means may be utilized for supporting the working structure of our apparatus in overhanging relation relatively to the bow of a vessel. Our supporting structure further includes a central, longitudinally disposed, heavy nose member N which may be rigidly affixed to and abutted against the bow of the boat and which furnishes, as will be later explained, the support for the inner ends of two rotary drum members as well as the suspension support for the forward end of the mold boards of our plowing elements.

Our mechanism for cutting and disintegrating a stratum of ice in the path of the boat B is mounted between the forward ends of the two supporting structures T and comprise a pair of large, transversely disposed rotary drums indicated as entireties by the letter D and positioned almost end to end in front of the bow of the boat. The drums D are of preferably gradually tapered, frusto-conical construction with their smaller ends disposed inwardly, centrally of the bow of the boat. Drum D are journaled upon heavy axial shafts l5, the outer ends of which are supported in heavy sockets l6 secured to the forward overhanging supporting structure. The two drums D as seen in the top plan view Fig. 2 have their axes as shown, lying in substantially a common vertical plane, but as shown, in the front elevation Fig. 1, have their axes slightly tilted upwardly from the inner ends, thereby causing the under peripheries of the drums to be more nearly horizontally disposed than if the drums were coaxial. The inner ends of drum shafts i5 are affixed in suitable sockets provided by the heavy nose member N. Each of the drums D in the form illustrated, is provided with several series of circumferentially arranged cutting teeth which have the facilities of sawing as well as disintegrating and assisting in conveying the ice. Each of the series, as shown, is affixed to a supporting ring I! welded or otherwise rigidly secured to the periphery of the drum and may be in the form of a circular T bar having an outwardly extending flange to which on opposite sides thereof are intermittently secured cutting teeth Hib. By alternating the positioning of the teeth l'ib on opposite sides of the securing flange l'la a Wider cut and greater disintegration is provided than if the teeth were all aligned in longitudinally of the drums. Auger elements [8 as shown, may comprise angle iron sections twisted and bent into partial spiral form having the base webs thereof welded or otherwise rigidly afiixed to the periphery of the drum and having upstanding flanges l8a which lie in a truncated conical geometric figure spaced inwardly slightly from the figure generated by the several series of cutting elements H. The auger elements i8 may also rigidly carry transverse wing members [8b which may be welded or otherwise rigidly affixed (see Fig. 7) to the two webs of the auger member l8. Drums D are driven by suitable power means such as heavy motors M, one supported at each side of the bow of the boat B with its armature shaft as shown, disposed longitudinally of the apparatus and having a roller chain or other endless driving element Is as shown, trained about a sprocket affixed to the rear of a driven shaft 20. Suitable bearing are provided adjacent both of the ends of the shafts 2B and each shaft as shown, has affixed thereto a worm 2| which is disposed within the upper portion of a transmission housing 22 and is meshed with a worm gear 23 affixed to the outer end of the respective drum. Worm gear 23 is rigidly affixed to the outer end plate 24 of one of the drums and torque isthus applied for revolving the two drums upon the stationary shafts [5, the direction of revolution when the machine is viewed as in Fig. 3 being counterclockwise to produce appropriate cutting action and disintegrating of the ice with a component forward propelling action of the boat and to cause ice disintegrated by the cutter elements and auger elements 18 to be submerged downwardly and then rearwardly by the action of the tapered drums.

Rigidly afiixed. below the drums D and con verging forwardly in plow formation are a pair of heavy mold boards the forward converging ends of which are rigidly secured to the lower portion of the central nose member N. The concave shape of the two mold boards MB is well illustrated by the cross sectional figures 9 to if 'taken on the section lines 3-43, 5 3-48 and l l-li respectively of Fig. 3. The rear ends of mold boards MB are rigidly ailixed to and supported by heavy supporting plates 25 secured to the bottom and lower portion of the bow of the boat at the sides thereof.

It will of course be understood that various other structure may be utilized for supporting, reinforcing and applying thrust to the rear and outer ends of the mold boards MB. 7

Motors or engines M may be electrical, diesel or internal combustion motors and provision is made for controlling the operation of the same from an operators station such as the pilot house H shown as mounted upon the forward portion of the boat B.

If electrical motors are utilized for driving the drums D an electrical generator may be incorporated in the diesel, steam or other engine for propelling the boat .which will generate adequate current for supplying the electric motors.

. Operation out the ice and assist in the disintegration thereof while the auger elements 13 car ying the disintegrating blades itb chop the cut ice into chunks and further act as small paddles to convey and submerge the ice downwardly andalso laterally of the boat and machine. The outstanding peripheral edges of the auger elements It act to guide and move the disintegrated ice from the center of the machine and intermediate portions thereof outwardly, laterally of the line of travel.

As the chunks of ice are submerged below the rotary drums they are received by the overhanging, substantial leading edges of the plow elements or mold boards MB which leading edges extend to the dotted line positions when viewed in plan as indicated by the small letter L. The mold boards then cooperate with the rotating drums to guide the chunks of ice laterally with force and velocity and the leading edges of the mold boards overhang the concave rear portions to cause delivery of the ice chunks with violence at the outer ends of the plow. The delivery of the chunks materially below the stratum of solid ice I (indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 3) is lateral of the sides of the vessel or boat B and the velocity of discharge is such that the ice chunks are discharged materially below and some distance to the sides of the channel cut by our structure, into positions where they will not work outwardly into the channel but will be retained by the solid stratum of ice formed, leaving a substantially unobstructed channel for navigation.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that with the structure of our rotary drums the ice is sawed and cut into lanes while being simultaneously pounded, beaten and disintegrated by the sawing elements as well as the paddle elements or blades carried by the spirally arranged auger elements IS.

It will further be seen that the said rotary drums not only cut and disintegrate the ice ahead of the propelled boat but engage and submerge the chunks of ice below the drums and simultaneously convey or move the disintegrated material outwardly, laterally of the travel of the vessel.

It will further be seen that there is a close and important functional cooperation between the submerged plow or mold board structure which receives from the lowermost periphery of the drums and then acts to supplement the conveying movement of the drums and to further submerge the ice chunks and discharge the same. with velocity far under the solid stratum of ice at the sides of the channel out.

It will of course be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, ar-

rangement and proportions of the parts without departing from the scope of our invention.

What we claim is:

1. In apparatus for disintegrating and removing ice from a body of water to form a navigation channel, a pair of large power driven rotary drums disposed in end to end relation, structure for mounting said drums on the forward end of a boat or propelled floating medium, said drum-s being disposed transversely of the longitudinal center line of the boat and tapering substantially from their outer ends to the central portion of said structure, the undersides of said drums being disposed below the bottom of the maximum ice formation, mechanism disposed upon the peripheries of said drums for cutting and disintegrating a stratum of ice and for conveying the disintegrated ice to submerge the pieces thereof beneath said drums and to simultaneously by screw-conveyor action convey said pieces laterally to the sides of the boat on which said drums are mounted and mechanism disposed rearwardly of said drums and below the axis thereof for cooperating in said conveying action and for discharging the pieces of ice forcibly below the solid stratum at the sides of the boat during travel.

2. The structure set forth in claim 1 and said cutting and disintegrating mechanism including for each drum several series of teeth disposed generally circumferentially of the drum and including also spirally extending conveyor-flights mounted on the periphery of each drum between said several series of teeth.

3. 1n apparatus for disintegrating and removing ice from a body of water to form a navigation channel, a truncated conical, rotary drum increasing in diameter from its inner end to its outer end to progressively increase the peripheral lineal speed thereof, means for mounting said drum on the forward end of a propelled floating medium with the axis of said drum disposed transversely to the line of travel of said medium, and with the underside of said drum disposed below the bottom of the ice formation, a plurality of ice cutting and disintegrating elements mounted on said drum and spirally arranged screw-conveyor-flights also mounted on said drum between said cutting elements. whereby when said drum is driven in a forwardly and downwardly direction a stratum of ice will be disintegrated and the pieces thereof submerged and conveyed outwardly laterally of the floating medium.

4. In apparatus for disintegrating and removing ice from a body of water to form a navigation channel, power driven rotary mechanism for submerging and conveying disintegrated ice downwardly and to one side of the line of travel of a boat, said rotary mechanism comprising a forwardly driven rotary drum mounted on the forward end of a boat with its axis extending generally horizontally and in transverse relation to the line of travel of the disintegrating apparatus, said drum having several spaced series of circumferentially spaced cutting teeth and having between said adjacent series spirally disposed screw-conveyor sections spaced about said drum and arranged in several series to in general convey disintegrated ice to the outside end of said drum, said screw-conveyor sections having continuous, spirally curved conveyor edges and having also spaced thereon, ice-disintegrating wing members projecting outwardly beyond the peripheries of said edges.

5. In apparatus for disintegrating, submerging and removing ice from a body of water to form a navigation channel, said apparatus including a rotary ice-disintegrating drum structure and a plow structure for dispersing disintegrated ice below the stratum of remaining ice at the side of the channel formed, those novel features in the drum construction which comprises a pair of frusto-conical, power-driven rotary drums disposed in end to end relation and tapering substantially from outer to inner ends and disposed transversely of the line or" travel of a propelled floating medium, each of said drums having mounted on the periphery thereof at least sections of a continuously spiral screw-conveyor, power means for driving said drums in forwardly propelling direction to convey through said screw-conveyor, disintegrated material outward- 1y beyond the outer ends of said drums and said drums each being provided with a multiplicity of series of circumferentially spaced cutting and disintegrating elements protruding outwardly some distance beyond the outer edges of said screw-conveyor sections.

. GEORGE R. BROWN.

KENNETH R. LARSON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

